J. Blokken PhD, PharmD

Bispecific monoclonal antibodies for the treatment of lymphoma and multiple myeloma

Bispecific antibodies (BsAbs) represent a promising new treatment modality for many patients. Several clinical trials with BsAbs have emerged over the past years, either evaluating these agents monotherapy or in combination with other drugs. BsAbs offer an off-the shelf alternative for CAR-T cell therapy and have already been used successfully as salvage therapy after CAR-T cell failure. First, Prof. Guillaume Cartron (CHU Montpellier, University of Montpellier) gave an update of the use of BsAbs in non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Thereafter, Prof. Nathalie Meuleman (Hôpital Erasme, ULB) shared her expertise and gave an overview on the use of bispecifics in multiple myeloma.

Ethics & Economy – How to get a drug reimbursed in Belgium?

The journey a drug makes from the laboratory to the patient’s bedside is very long. After years of clinical research and development, a lengthy administrative procedure needs to be completed. It starts with the granting of a marketing authorisation by the EMA and is followed in Belgium by a reimbursement decision. In order to get a better view on how a drug gets reimbursed in Belgium, Diane Kleinermans (RIZIV-INAMI, President CRM/CTG, Brussels), Marjan Willaert (Policy Advisor – Market Access, Pharma.be, Brussels), and Hanne Wouters (Market Access Advisor, Pharma.be, Brussels) gave an overview on the evaluation and review by the commission for reimbursement of medicines (CRM).

Pierre Stryckmans Memorial Lecture – Immunology and immune tolerance after HSCT

The annual Pierre Stryckmans Memorial Lecture at this years’ BHS-GAM was presented by Prof. Dr. Gérard Socié (Hematology Transplant Hospital St. Louis, Paris, France). Dr. Socié was awarded for his huge contributions in the field of haematology. At the annual BHS GAM meeting, he first presented an overview of recent clinical trials studying the prophylaxis or treatment of acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GVHD). Thereafter, he switched to translational research and shared his knowledge on the search for effective biomarkers for GVHD severity and response to treatment, followed by some data from multi-omics analyses to thoroughly dissect GVHD.

BeQuinT: Past and future activities

In 2011, the Belgian health authorities established the Belgian Quality in Transfusion (BeQuinT) committee to improve the quality of transfusion practice and hemovigilance in Belgian Hospitals. Following the international shift from a product-centred to a patient-centred focus, the scope of BeQuinT was enlarged in 2018 by supporting the implementation of Patient Blood Management (PBM) and measuring the results through indicators. During the 38^th General Annual Meeting of the Belgian Hematology Society (BHS), anaesthesiologist Sarah Lessire (CHU UCL Namur, Namur) presented an overview of the past and future activities of BeQuinT.

Advances in laboratory technology

For the “Advances in Laboratory Technology” session, the BHS invited two excellent scientists to discuss novel laboratory techniques that are ready – or almost ready – to enter routine haematological clinical practice. First, Dr. Peter J.M. Valk (Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands) talked about novel techniques for minimal residual disease (MRD) testing in haematological patients. Subsequently, Dr. Barbara Dewaele (University Hospital Leuven, Belgium) shared her experience on optical genome mapping in acute myeloid leukaemia and acute lymphoid leukaemia.

Highlights in acute myeloid leukaemia

SUMMARY

During the 64^th annual meeting of ASH, again hundreds of interesting oral abstracts and poster presentations in the field of acute myeloid leukaemia were discussed. In this article, we will highlight some of the most promising data in the field of novel therapeutic agents, with interesting studies on gilteritinib and quizartinib. Furthermore, several trials assessed new induction strategies and reported on biomarker and/or minimal residual disease investigations. Finally, we discuss some practice-changing data from the ASAP and VIALE-A trials.

(BELG J HEMATOL 2023;14(1):30–5)

Highlights in transplantation

SUMMARY

In this overview, we present what was new in the field of haematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) at ASH 2022. Key messages were that all AML patients – even those without complete remission – are eligible for HCT and that there is a donor for (virtually) everybody thanks to the use of post-transplant cytarabine and abatercept. Furthermore, first-line acute graft-versus-host disease treatment in standard risk patients is feasible without corticosteroids or with low-dose corticosteroids. Finally, it was reported that a non-restrictive diet does not increase infections in patients with neutropenia after stem cell transplantation.

(BELG J HEMATOL 2023;14(1):26–9)